GiftCards.com
{{Infobox company
|name = GiftCards.com
|type = Subsidiary
|genre =
|logo = File:GiftCards.com Logo.jpg
|foundation = 1999
|founder = Blackhawk Network (CEO)
|dissolved =
|location_city = Pleasanton, PA
|location_country = U.S.
|location =
|locations =
|area_served = United States
|key_people =
|industry =
|products = Gift cards
|services =
|revenue =
|operating_income =
|net_income =
|aum =
|assets =
|equity =
|owner =
|num_employees =
|parent = Blackhawk Network Holdings
(2016–present)
|divisions =
|subsid =
|homepage = [http://www.giftcards.com/ Official Website]
}}
GiftCards.com is an online gift-card retailer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.{{cite news | last=Gittleson| first=Kim| title =GiftCards.com boss: From orphanage to entrepreneur| publisher = BBC| date =23 July 2014 | url =https://www.bbc.com/news/business-28409603| access-date =5 October 2015}}{{cite news | last=Tascarella| first=Patty| title =GiftCards.com sells 6 millionth gift card| newspaper =Pittsburgh Business Times| date =10 February 2015 | url =http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/morning-edition/2015/02/giftcards-com-sells-6-millionth-gift-card.html| access-date =5 October 2015}} The company sells gift cards for thousands of different large corporate retailers and small businesses{{cite news | last=Todd| first=Deborah M.| title =Green Tree tech firm planning campaign for gift cards| newspaper =Pittsburgh Post-Gazette| date =29 May 2014 | url =http://www.post-gazette.com/business/2014/05/30/green-tree-tech-firm-planning-campaign-for-gift-cards/201405280150| access-date =5 October 2015}} including Vanillagifts.com, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Sephora, Coach, Amazon.com, and others.{{cite news | last=Coyne| first=Justine| title =GiftCards.com adds Best Buy, Sephora, Yankee Candle to offerings| newspaper =Pittsburgh Business Times| date =17 June 2015 | url =http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/morning-edition/2015/06/giftcards-com-adds-best-buy-sephora-yankee-candle.html| access-date =5 October 2015}}{{cite news | last=Coyne| first=Justine| title =GiftCards.com to add more retailers through CashStar partnership| newspaper =Pittsburgh Business Times| date =8 December 2014 | url =http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/innovation/2014/12/giftcards-com-to-add-more-retailers-through.html| access-date =5 October 2015}}{{cite news | last=Coyne| first=Justine| title =GiftCards.com adds Amazon to its offerings| newspaper =Pittsburgh Business Times| date =20 March 2015 | url =http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/morning-edition/2015/03/giftcards-com-adds-amazon-to-its-offerings.html| access-date =5 October 2015}} The company also offers prepaid Visa and MasterCard gift cards. GiftCards.com is considered the largest online gift card retailer{{cite news | last=Fleisher| first=Chris| title =GiftCards.com of Green Tree carves out niche online| newspaper =Pittsburgh Tribune-Review| date =9 March 2015 | url =http://triblive.com/business/headlines/7933175-74/cards-com-gift| access-date =5 October 2015}}{{cite video|people=Mika Brzezinski (host), Joe Scarborough (host), Thomas Roberts (host), Jason Wolfe (interviewee)|date=28 July 2014|title=Overcoming the Odds|url=http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/from-orphanage-to-entrepreneur-312894019935|publisher=Morning Joe|access-date=5 October 2015}} and has appeared on the Inc. 5000 list multiple times (most recently in 2015).{{cite web|url=http://www.inc.com/inc5000/|title=Inc. 5000 2015: The Fastest-Growing Private U.S. Companies, At a Glance|author=|website=www.Inc.com|publisher=Inc.|access-date=5 October 2015}}{{cite news | last=Firer| first=Oleg| title =Which Company Racked Up a Growth Rate of 23,646 Percent?| publisher = CNBC| date =24 August 2012 | url =https://www.cnbc.com/2012/08/24/which-company-racked-up-a-growth-rate-of-23646-percent.html| access-date =5 October 2015}} The company is currently owned by Blackhawk Network Holdings after its purchase of the retailer in 2016.{{cite news|title=Blackhawk Network (HAWK) Announces Acquisition of GiftCards.com|url=http://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Blackhawk+Network+%28HAWK%29+Announces+Acquisition+of+GiftCards.com/11199166.html|access-date=31 March 2016|publisher=Street Insider|date=6 January 2016}}
History
In 1999, GiftCards.com was founded by Jason Wolfe in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as DirectCertificate.com.{{cite magazine | last=Weiss| first=Geoff| title =Orphaned and Homeless, How This Self-Taught Techie Founded a Multi-Million Dollar Empire | magazine = Entrepreneur| date =14 July 2014 | url =http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235585| access-date =5 October 2015}} In this early iteration, the company sold paper gift certificates for merchants instead of plastic gift cards. In 2003, Wolfe purchased the GiftCards.com domain name for $40,000. In 2006, Wolfe sold DirectCertificates.com to Minnesota-based, Digital River. He purchased the company back in 2007 and eventually rebranded it as GiftCards.com in 2008.{{cite news | title =Entrepreneur rises above adversity to create three companies | publisher = Team Pennsylvania Foundation| date =5 November 2013 | url =http://teampa.com/2013/11/entrepreneur-rises-above-adversity-to-create-three-companies/| access-date =5 October 2015}} By 2009, it had $44 million in sales.
The company operates out of a suburban Pittsburgh facility that prints gift cards directly and sends them to clients.{{cite news | last=Kindler| first=D.H.| title =2015 Diamond Awards: Jason Wolfe| newspaper =Pittsburgh Business Times| date =24 April 2015 | url =http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/print-edition/2015/04/24/2015-diamond-awards-jason-wolfe.html| access-date =5 October 2015}} In 2010, GiftCards.com had 60 employees and had 100 employees by 2013.{{cite news | last=Olson| first=Thomas| title =Green Tree-based GiftCards.com makes gift buying a snap| newspaper =Pittsburgh Tribune-Review| date =19 November 2013 | url =http://triblive.com/business/headlines/4982960-74/cards-gift-com| access-date =5 October 2015}} By 2014, the company had over $100 million in annual sales{{cite magazine | last=Wally| first=Maxine| title =Pittsburgh's comeback kid | magazine = Fortune| date =7 November 2014 | url =http://fortune.com/2014/11/07/tech-star-jason-wolfe-giftcardscom/| access-date =5 October 2015}} with 12 issued patents and 45 pending. It also entered into a partnership with CashStar, allowing them to sell gift cards for over 50 different retailers. In 2015, the company sold its 6 millionth gift card.
In 2016, Blackhawk Network Holdings announced the purchase of GiftCards.com. The purchase was confirmed by GiftCards.com in a press release, announcing the value of the purchase at $120 million.{{cite news|title=Blackhawk Network Acquires GiftCards.com and OmniCard.com|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blackhawk-network-acquires-giftcardscom-and-omnicardcom-300200521.html|access-date=31 March 2016|publisher=PR Newswire|date=6 January 2016}}
Products
GiftCards.com offers gift cards from around 500,000 different large and small businesses throughout the United States. Major gift card providers include Best Buy, Sephora, Yankee Candle, Amazon.com, Pottery Barn, Starbucks, The Cheesecake Factory, Gap, Macy's, and Bloomingdale's among many others. The company also provides Visa and MasterCard gift cards. For an added fee, customers can personalize their gift cards with photos, text, or other graphics. All gift cards are printed at the GiftCards.com facility in suburban Pittsburgh.
Philanthropy
Founder and CEO, Jason Wolfe, established the "You Gift, We Gift" charity in 2013. As part of the initiative, Wolfe and his son drive around the United States in an RV handing out gifts and gift cards to children in need.